(disclaimer: I'm not saying this is a masterpiece in quality or creativity, but here is a christmas slideshow for you nonetheless)
Love y'all!
-Steph
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Commercial Break is Over
Aaand, we're back. I've noticed that when most people say, "hey, you should update your blog" I say, go jump in a lake. But if my wonderful big brother says "you've really negelected your blog, dear," I think to myself, why, he's right, and I get right on it. So you can thank Greggory for this blog entry.
I have been busy with school and other things, so to catch you up most effectively, we'll do this blog rapid fire style.
1)Christmas Last time I wrote about my recently aquired free branches. They turned into three swags and a wreath, which, in combination with my decked out christmas tree, have my apartment looking very festive indeed.
(Santa and his assistants giving M1 the yearly lecture).
I finally sent my christmas presents to the States on Wednesday. The lady said I should have sent them by the end of November to get them there by Christmas, and we shared a chuckle over that thought. I chuckled to think that anyone actually has their christmas shopping done by then. I imagine she chuckled at the silly American girl coming in to send a box half-way around the world a mere week before the big day, when she's known all year long exactly when Christmas would come.
Yesterday I was talking to Gregg, and I had a nearly overwhelming urge to tell him what his present is! I've had this problem for as long as I can remember, and it's particularly bad with some poeople. One year I got Gregg a Checkers game for christmas (or a birthday), and I was so excited about it I gave him a "hint" and told him the first letter. As if that wasn't close enough to telling him, he convinced me to tell him the second letter too, and as soon as he knew it started with "Ch" he knew what it was. He was happy with the present, but I was so devestated that he guessed.
I'm going to Dom and Raph's house for christmas, along with various other expats--some I know and some I don't. I'm looking forward to that, but as the great exedus has begun this week, I'm a wee bit jealous and would be very glad to also be going home.
2)History Nerds Last night I went to a "so long, Switzerland" party to see the American Exchange student Nikki off. Five of us came. Historians are kinda funny when they're all together. What other group would think that sitting around eating Mexican food and brownies and talking about John Stewart Mill and clasical liberalism, the Early Modern period, history of gold and germs, colonialism, various African wars and historical contexts for identity constitutes a "party"?
3)marathon I officially signed up to run the Connemarathon (half...only half) in Ireland in March, with Valda. This is exciting on several accounts. First, it means I'm going to Ireland (woohoo!). It also means an excellent excuse to prioritize exorbitant amounts of time running around in the woods, or in the city, or by the river, or...well, anywhere. Plus! much of that will be with Valda, which means lots of long and pleasant chats.
4)master thesis One of the reasons I haven't blogged is that I've been busy thinking about what to research for my master's thesis. I haven't pinned it down totally, but it's looking like I might do something about water and infrastucture and the like in South Africa. Stay tuned...
5)Snow We have a ton! It warmed up a bit the last day or two, so it's falling off the trees now, but it has been quite wonderful. And it made me miss class the other day...I HATE it when that happens! :)
Who says you can't wear heels with a snowsuit!?
I have been busy with school and other things, so to catch you up most effectively, we'll do this blog rapid fire style.
1)Christmas Last time I wrote about my recently aquired free branches. They turned into three swags and a wreath, which, in combination with my decked out christmas tree, have my apartment looking very festive indeed.
(Santa and his assistants giving M1 the yearly lecture).
I finally sent my christmas presents to the States on Wednesday. The lady said I should have sent them by the end of November to get them there by Christmas, and we shared a chuckle over that thought. I chuckled to think that anyone actually has their christmas shopping done by then. I imagine she chuckled at the silly American girl coming in to send a box half-way around the world a mere week before the big day, when she's known all year long exactly when Christmas would come.
Yesterday I was talking to Gregg, and I had a nearly overwhelming urge to tell him what his present is! I've had this problem for as long as I can remember, and it's particularly bad with some poeople. One year I got Gregg a Checkers game for christmas (or a birthday), and I was so excited about it I gave him a "hint" and told him the first letter. As if that wasn't close enough to telling him, he convinced me to tell him the second letter too, and as soon as he knew it started with "Ch" he knew what it was. He was happy with the present, but I was so devestated that he guessed.
I'm going to Dom and Raph's house for christmas, along with various other expats--some I know and some I don't. I'm looking forward to that, but as the great exedus has begun this week, I'm a wee bit jealous and would be very glad to also be going home.
2)History Nerds Last night I went to a "so long, Switzerland" party to see the American Exchange student Nikki off. Five of us came. Historians are kinda funny when they're all together. What other group would think that sitting around eating Mexican food and brownies and talking about John Stewart Mill and clasical liberalism, the Early Modern period, history of gold and germs, colonialism, various African wars and historical contexts for identity constitutes a "party"?
3)marathon I officially signed up to run the Connemarathon (half...only half) in Ireland in March, with Valda. This is exciting on several accounts. First, it means I'm going to Ireland (woohoo!). It also means an excellent excuse to prioritize exorbitant amounts of time running around in the woods, or in the city, or by the river, or...well, anywhere. Plus! much of that will be with Valda, which means lots of long and pleasant chats.
4)master thesis One of the reasons I haven't blogged is that I've been busy thinking about what to research for my master's thesis. I haven't pinned it down totally, but it's looking like I might do something about water and infrastucture and the like in South Africa. Stay tuned...
5)Snow We have a ton! It warmed up a bit the last day or two, so it's falling off the trees now, but it has been quite wonderful. And it made me miss class the other day...I HATE it when that happens! :)
Who says you can't wear heels with a snowsuit!?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wreaths! and Brandi Carlile
Guess what!? I got a whole garbage bag of evergreen branches for FREE! I know that might not impress you Oregonians, because you can just go out in your yard and clip a few if you want to make a wreath. Still, it's a fact that evergreens are wiley tempters this time of year. I bet that like me, you enviously cast your eye upon the neighbors trees and catch yourself thinking things like, "they wouldn't even miss this half; they totally can't even see it from their window." At home, even with our own collection of fir trees on the property, I can hardly walk down the hill toward the cemetery, past the big, glorious field of squat little Douglas firs, without thinking about my hatchet and which tree would look best in the living room. That none of them is for sale (how stingy!) and the owners don't live on the hill doesn't help the situation. I'm sure you can sympathize. Here in Basel though, Christmas greens are EXPENSIVE! Five francs for a couple lousy short sticks on Marktplatz last week!
(As an aside...when we were little, Brian had a particular affinity for sticks. Well, ok, we all did, truth be told. But Brian left his around the yard and would get quite upset if we picked one of his sticks up and tried to use it for whatever we wanted a stick for (poking around in our gardens, for example, or stirring the "cement" in the dump truck). Gregg and I tried to respect Brian's right to personal property and use sticks that he hadn't laid claim to, but we agreed he was taking things too far when he began claiming sticks that were still on the apple tree. After that, we decreed by the authority of being older that all twigs on the tree belonged to no one and could, therefore, be claimed by anybody. After that, when Brian tried to argue that the stick I had in hand was his, demonstrating that I got it off the tree was a swift and sure defense of rightful ownership).
But back to my story...the neighbors were cutting down a couple trees yesterday, so I toodled up the road and asked if I could take some branches home. They said yes, and voila! Enough greenery (in a variety of colors, no less) to make at least 2 wreathes. Now I just need ribbon and wire.
Would you believe I started out to write about Zurich?! Saturday I went to the Brandi Carlile concert with Melanie from school and Raphael. The concert was good--about what I expected, and well-worth going (check it out on youtube). I knew all the songs she played except for 2. The best "unexpected" thing about the concert was noticing they were all looking very Northwest in their western style, button up shirts. One guy in the band even had his blue plaid flannel on. Does that say Great Northwest, or what!? :) It was my first time in Zurich, and it was a good time to go. The city is alight with Christmas decorations and there was snow. I stayed at Melanie's house overnight and Sunday I saw Zwingli’s church, the university and old town, and this funky little boat-theater that moves around the lake giving regular performances. It would be fun to go to a show sometime.
Back to preparing tomorrow's presentation on historiography in South Africa...but then, afterward (after tomorrow's presentation, that is), I'm going to a handball game. Handball in CH isn't like handball in the states. The best way to imagine it is this: It's just like Basketball, only with soccer nets and goalies instead of hoops, and you don't dribble--you throw a sticky ball around instead. Oh, and you can travel. :) That's my pre-handball experience description of the game. I'll let you know if I need to revise it afterward.
(As an aside...when we were little, Brian had a particular affinity for sticks. Well, ok, we all did, truth be told. But Brian left his around the yard and would get quite upset if we picked one of his sticks up and tried to use it for whatever we wanted a stick for (poking around in our gardens, for example, or stirring the "cement" in the dump truck). Gregg and I tried to respect Brian's right to personal property and use sticks that he hadn't laid claim to, but we agreed he was taking things too far when he began claiming sticks that were still on the apple tree. After that, we decreed by the authority of being older that all twigs on the tree belonged to no one and could, therefore, be claimed by anybody. After that, when Brian tried to argue that the stick I had in hand was his, demonstrating that I got it off the tree was a swift and sure defense of rightful ownership).
But back to my story...the neighbors were cutting down a couple trees yesterday, so I toodled up the road and asked if I could take some branches home. They said yes, and voila! Enough greenery (in a variety of colors, no less) to make at least 2 wreathes. Now I just need ribbon and wire.
Would you believe I started out to write about Zurich?! Saturday I went to the Brandi Carlile concert with Melanie from school and Raphael. The concert was good--about what I expected, and well-worth going (check it out on youtube). I knew all the songs she played except for 2. The best "unexpected" thing about the concert was noticing they were all looking very Northwest in their western style, button up shirts. One guy in the band even had his blue plaid flannel on. Does that say Great Northwest, or what!? :) It was my first time in Zurich, and it was a good time to go. The city is alight with Christmas decorations and there was snow. I stayed at Melanie's house overnight and Sunday I saw Zwingli’s church, the university and old town, and this funky little boat-theater that moves around the lake giving regular performances. It would be fun to go to a show sometime.
Back to preparing tomorrow's presentation on historiography in South Africa...but then, afterward (after tomorrow's presentation, that is), I'm going to a handball game. Handball in CH isn't like handball in the states. The best way to imagine it is this: It's just like Basketball, only with soccer nets and goalies instead of hoops, and you don't dribble--you throw a sticky ball around instead. Oh, and you can travel. :) That's my pre-handball experience description of the game. I'll let you know if I need to revise it afterward.
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